Study: Privatized Medicare Would Raise Premiums

WASHINGTON (AP) - A study out Monday says most Medicare recipients - 59 percent - would pay higher premiums under a hypothetical privatized system, with wide regional differences leading to big hikes in some states.

In the senior-rich political swing state of Florida, the study says premiums for traditional Medicare would jump more than $200 a month.

The report by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation carries a prominent disclaimer that it should not be taken as an analysis of the proposal by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan, partly because their plan lacks specifics.

However, Kaiser says it is modeled a similar approach to Romney-Ryan.

The Obama campaign pounced on the findings, while the Romney camp pointed to the disclaimer, saying the report doesn't reflect the candidate's own plan.

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